BOWLERS AND BATTERS SHARE HONORS IN WPCA MORNING
JEDDAH: Sialkot Shaheen maintained their number one position in the points table after prevailing over Cascade Group, Jeddah Falcons opened their winning account against AWCC, Landmark Arabia had the last laugh against Warraich Gujarat XI, Al Saudi XI had no mercy against Super CC to thrash them by all ten wkts in just 40 balls, Markhour XI could overpower Thales in the end, Black Hawks prevailed over Bupa CC and Young Strikers maintained their rank in the points Table by enhancing their run rate against Transparent Mask here at WPCA Waziriyah Grounds in Cricket matches in Week 9 hostilities.
Match # 49: Cascade Group won the toss to bat first to manage 133 for 7 in the allotted 18 overs against Sialkot Shaheen on Ground # 1. Mohammed Sunasra top scored with 33 off 29 balls with 2 fours, Sajjad remained unbeaten on 27 off 23 balls with 2 fours, Ahmed Baldaraf and Adil Deshmukh 14 each. Nazim and Usman grabbed 3 wkts for 27 and 16 runs respectively.
Sialkot Shaheen in chase reached the winning target of 134 for 7 in 102 balls to win by 3 wkts with 6 balls to spare. Yasir hit a match-winning 50 in 28 balls with 2 sixes and 5 fours as he added 48 runs for the first wkt with Shahzad (7). Later Shafeeq stroked an unbeaten 30 in 16 balls with 2 sixes and 2 fours. Nazim made 11. Irfan and Hamad had 2 scalps each.
Match # 50: AWCC put into bat by Jeddah Falcons on Ground # 4 was bowled out for 117 in allotted 18 overs. Prominent scorers for the team were Khurram making 29 in 27 balls with 3 fours, Attaullah 24 in 26 balls with 2 fours, Tahir 12 and Gulbadin 10. Fuzan scalped 3 for 27, Moiz 3 for 12 and Abusaad 2.
Jeddah Falcons batted with determination and grit for the first time in the tournament to get to the winning target of 118 for 1 in 91 balls to win their first match in WPCA to open the account of wins. Jeddah Falcons triumphed with 9 wickets and 17 balls to remain. Must say impressive win against a seasoned team AWCC. Salman Saleem hit 50 in 37 balls with 7 hits to the ropes as he added match winning 83 in 67 balls first with Qatadah Kazi (17) and then with Moiz Mullah who remained unbeaten on 18. Sher Bahadur remained unbeaten on 21 off 11 balls with 3 hits to the fence.
Match # 51: Warraich Gujarat XI put into bat by the opponent’s Landmark Arabia managed 146 for 7 in allotted 18 overs. Nasir scored 40 in 32 balls with 4 fours as he stitched 60 in 43 balls for the 3rd wkt with Muzammil who made 23 in 26 balls with 3 fours. Later Sadaqat scored 35 in 21 balls with six and 3 fours. Mujasim and Bitu took 2 scalps each.
Landmark Arabia in chase achieved the victory target of 151 for 3 in 71 balls to win by 7 wkts with 37 balls to remain. Siyam Shaikh batted well for his match-winning 53 in just 21 balls with 2 sixes and 7 fours as he first added 84 in 34 balls for the opening stand with Abhijeet who made 49 in 33 balls with 6 boundaries and then for the 2nd wkt 41 runs with Yogananad (15). Saifullah had 2 wkts.
Match # 52: Super CC a depleted side with just 9 players opting to bat first against Al Saudi XI could manage 124 for 8. Mosa hammered 52 in 26 balls with 4 sixes and 3 fours as he stitched 47 for the first wkt with prolific Yasir who managed 28 in 14 balls with 4 fours and a six. Aamir entering the scene at # 9 made 22 in 16 balls with 3 boundaries as none other from the top order except for the openers could open the accounts as at one stage comfortably placed at 71 for 1 lost 5 wkts to be reduced to 93 for 6 and then 2 more at 124. Omer Zulqarnain grabbed 3 for 16 whereas Kashif shafeeq and Nazeer Farooqui shared 2 pieces each.
Al Saudi XI chasing 127 runs to win accomplished in just 40 balls as Omardeen in sublime touch blasted 7 sixes and 10 fours to compile unbeaten 85 in mere 25 balls as hid first fifty came in 19 balls while at the other end well known Kashif Shafeeq also played some scintillating strokes of six and 7 fours to remain unbeaten on 37 off 16 balls.
Match # 53: Transparent Mask with just one win so far in the Tournament in 6 matches looked very disappointing for the mask along with Super CC as this time around they got crushed for just 99 against Young strikers on Ground # 5. Altaaf Hussain coming at # 5 hit 37 in 38 balls with 2 fours and a six as he added face-saving 46 runs for the 5th wkt with Mohammed Shahrukh (16) after the top four batters could not touch the double-digit to be reduced to 29 for 4 in the 5th over. The tale of procession continued after this partnership as they lost wkts in a heap to be all out for 99 for 75 for 4. Abid Nazeer of Young Strikers bowled well again this time to snatch 3 for 26 while Fahad and Tariq had 2 each.
Young Strikers in trying to be among the top four in the table maintained with better NRR against Black Hawks as opener Tariq Siddiqui hammered match winning 56 in 33 balls with 9 hits to the ropes as he added 90 runs in 50 balls for the first wkt with Mohammed Amjad remaining not out on 37 off 24 balls with six and 4 fours to achieve the winning target of 101 for 1 in just 60 balls in trying to enhance the NRR.
Match # 54: Thales Group choosing to use the track first against Markhour XI was stranded at 122 for 8 in allotted 17 (18) overs on Ground # 6. Taqiurrehman top scored with 40 in 34 balls with 5 boundaries, Kamran Khan 15, Azizur Rehman 13 and Sohaib 18. Mohmoud took 3 for 23 and Asif Hussain 2.
Markhour XI began well with both the openers in good touch added 68 in 35 balls for the first wkt as Farhan made 43 in 23 balls with 5 fours and a six and Irfan 20 in 18 balls. Akbar Baloch remained unbeaten on 17 but the batters to follow could not sustain long at the crease as any from the middle order could get to double figures to lose wkts to be reduced to 112 for 6 as Amjed scalped 3 for 24 in his 3 overs and Taqiurrehman 2 to push Markhour Xi to the wall. Still, then # 8 Shafaqat batted with some sanity to hit an unbeaten 10 to win eventually.
Match # 55: In the last encounter of the day Bupa CC batting first against Black Hawks on Ground # 8 was bowled out for 149 in the allotted 18 overs. Rana Adnan scored highest with 56 in 22 balls with 4 sixes and 4 fours as he added 67 in 35 balls for the 2nd wkt with Shahnawaz Khan who made 35 in 22 balls with 6 fours to get to impressive 99 for 3 in the 9th over.
But the disaster struck Bupa CC at 120 for 3 when they lost wickets like nine pins to be reduced to 126 for 8 losing 5 wkts for the just addition of 6 runs. Zubair Sunasra remained not out on 11 and Waseem Mehar 11 as none other touched the ten-digit mark against some imaginative bowling by Hamid taking 4 wkts for 27 whereas Abdulrafay had 2. Bupa CC will have to ponder seriously their middle and lower middle order as despite the top order giving a sound start, they could not capitalize.
Black Hawks then in chase batted with concentration and composure to get to the winning target of 150 for 8 in 102 balls to win by 2 wkts with 6 balls to spare. Atif made 30 in 16 balls with 5 boundaries, Hamid exhibited fine all-around performance hit 33 in 21 balls with 4 fours and a six, Abdulrafay 28 in 20 balls with 4 fours, Skipper Rehan 17 and Amir 13. Hassan grabbed 3 for 16 and 2 wkts each to Rana Adnan and Shoaib.
